The present invention relates to a bimetallic catalyst material for use in the hydrogenation of hydrocarbon feedstocks and, more particularly, to a catalyst which is useful for the simultaneous and selective hydrogenation of diolefins and nitriles present in a hydrocarbon feedstock.
There are known in the prior art processes and catalysts for hydrogenating unsaturated compounds in liquid hydrocarbon feedstocks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,351 discloses a process for the hydrogenation of an olefinic unsaturation. More specifically, it relates to the catalytic hydrogenation of aliphatic, unsaturated compound in the presence of a palladium hydrogenation catalyst on a suitable support. Still more specifically, the invention relates to the use of applicable additives for a palladium hydrogenation catalyst used to hydrogenate the olefinic unsaturation. Further, the invention relates to the hydrogenation of aliphatic, unsaturated compounds containing nitrile groups. U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,323 discloses a process for hydrogenating unsaturated compounds in the liquid phase in the presence of a soluble catalyst obtained by reacting an organometal derivative or a metal hydride with a synergistic mixture of (a) a compound of zinc, zirconium, manganese, molybdenum, or iron and (b) a nickel or cobalt compound. U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,540 discloses a process which is useful for the selective hydrogenation of polyunsaturated organic compounds. The resultant product of such a reaction produces the monoolefinic equivalents of the hydrogenated polyunsaturated organic compounds. The catalyst used in this selective hydrogenation process comprises nickel and sulfur deposited on the surface of an alumina support. The preferred catalyst does not contain halogens, noble metals, alkaline earth metals, or alkali metals and is characterized by having only a very low percentage of the total pore volume being provided by pores having an average pore diameter less than 150 angstroms. The great majority of the pore volume is present in the form of macropores having diameters of 500 to 1500 angstroms.
While the foregoing processes employ catalysts which are useful in the hydrogenation process, the processes and catalysts are not as selective nor do they simultaneously hydrogenate diolefins and nitriles. Naturally, it would be highly desirable to provide a catalyst which is useful for the simultaneous selective hydrogenation of diolefins and nitriles in a hydrocarbon feedstock.
Accordingly, it is the principle object of the present invention to provide a catalyst useful for the simultaneous and selective hydrogenation of diolefins and nitriles present in a hydrocarbon feedstock.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for preparing a catalyst as aforesaid.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a process for the simultaneous and selective hydrogenation of diolefins and nitriles from a hydrocarbon feedstock employing such a catalyst.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bimetallic catalyst for the simultaneous selective hydrogenation of diolefins and nitriles, a method for making such a bimetallic catalyst, and a process using such a catalyst.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.